the bulletin of the atomic scientists is proud to announce a competition that we hope will focus the world's artists, architects, and visionary thinkers on a problem that has all but stumped the world's policy makers, scientists, and leaders: the problem of plutonium disposal. for decades there have been two 'accepted' ways of thinking about plutonium disposal. we can bury it in a big hole and forget about it. or we can mix it with uranium and burn it in reactors as fuel. a third way has recently been proposed by allison macfarlane, frank von hippel, and others in the may/june issue of the bulletin. but the editors of the bulletin have devised yet a fourth way.
basically, we want to create a memorial to plutonium, that nasty substance that stays radioactive for thousands of years, it can be made into nuclear bombs, and is deadly if ingested. but hiding it away, as conventional notions dictate, will prevent the world from learning anything from its folly.
we're also giving away more than $3,000 in prizes to the person or persons who come up with the best design for our 'plutonium memorial.'
so we invite you to submit your drawings, architectural models, schematics, blueprints, or other representations to the bulletin. a panel of experts will judge the entries and present the winners in an issue next year. there are a few technical details that must be followed [plutonium, after all, is tricky to handle]. follow the links on the competition website to learn more about the care and handling of plutonium and the contest rules.
for more information or to register, contact: bulletin of the atomic scientists plutonium memorial contest 6042 south kimbark ave. chicago, illinois 60637 fax: 773.702.0725 email: [email protected] website: http://www.thebulletin.org/contest/
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